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THE INDIAN MASSACRE AT YORK, MAINE 

January 25, 1691-2. 
By MRS. IDA MAY WIGHTMAN 

NEWTON, N. H. 

One of the greatest, if not the greatest tragedy of Colonial days 
in New England has never had its story written in detail. References 
to the appalling massacre of the inhabitants of York, Maine, in the 
second Indian war, may be found in scattered contemporaneous records 
and in some general histories of that state, but they are either incom- 
plete in detail, or give inadequate and incorrect reports of its actual 
horrors. The massacres at Deerfield, Mass., where about a score fell 
victims; at Salmon Falls, N. H., where about thirty were put to the 
knife and tomahawk, and at Schenectady, N. Y., where about sixty 
were slain, have had ample treatment by local and general historians, 
but the sudden and terrible slaughter of an undetermined number, cer- 
tainly not less than fifty men, women and children in a few hours at 
York is here told for the first time with the advantage of a knowledge 
gained from the narratives of contemporary actors or writers, and the 
original reports of the French officials describing the raid. 

It is the story of a bloody shambles staged by a relentless party of 
savages consisting of one hundred and fifty Abenakis, who descended 
on a peaceful village and nearly wiped it out of existence in a short 
and sanguinary struggle. Its location offered no special facilities for 
the foray, at least not more so than any one of the fringe of settle- 
ments in the frontier Province of Maine at that time, nor is it known 
that it was selected as the victim of a particular reprisal warfare 
engendered in this irrespressible conflict of race and religion then 
being waged between the French Catholics, the savage Indians, and the 
English Puritans. While it had suffered an attack in the first Indian 
war, with the loss of a few men, the experience was not unlike the 
neighboring villages along the coast of Maine during those troublous 
times. Nor was it the home of any English leader conspicuous in 
military affairs whom the French or their Indian allies wished to kill 
or capture as a matter of personal revenge, or in retaliation for any- 
thing its inhabitants had done in the war. 

At the time of the events under consideration the town of York 
held a population of not more than five hundred souls, scatteringly 



\i\(S 



housed in two settlements known then and unto this day as "Scituate" 
and "Scotland" from the origin of the dwellers in each locality. Those 
from Scituate, Mass., arriving about 1642-5 were the first to give a 
distinctive appellation to a section of York, and had joined the earliest 
arrivals of a prior decade who were settled at and near the mouth of 
York River, on its westward side, and these new arrivals took up 
unsettled lands to the eastward of the river as far as Cape Neddick. 
The Scotch rebels, or refugees, who came about ten years later took 
up land further inland and constituted a distinct element for several 
generations. In the half century that followed these settlements the 
population of York was concentrated along the seashore until the in- 
creasing pressure of numbers gradually pushed the farms backward for 
a couple of miles to accommodate the needs of agricultural develop- 
ment. 

Sunday, January 24th, 1691-2, was the Feast of the Purification of 
the Virgin Mary, or, in the English notation, known as Candlemas, 
and on that day the pastor of the church of York preached to his little 
flock unaware that by nightfall of that winter Sabbath a horde of 
savages would reach the outskirts of the town in the silence of the 
night bent upon murder.^ These "bloodhounds" as Cotton Mather 
called them, "had long been wishing that they might embrue their 
hands in the blood of some New English minister." Their wish was 
about to be gratified. That night the people of York slept "in their 
unguarded houses here and there scattered, quiet and secure." 

Early the following morning young Arthur Bragdon- (Arthur^.) 
had gone out into the w^oods back of the settlement in the direction of 
Mt. Agamenticus to set his traps, according to local tradition, and in 
making the rounds of his trap-line he came upon a pile of Indian snow- 
shoes stacked against a large rock. While pondering upon the signifi- 
cance of this discovery, an Indian dog, tightly muzzled to prevent his 
barking and thereby precipitating an "alarm" from the houses nearest 
the encampment, fell on his trail and immediately disappeared into the 
woods whence he had emerged. This was the first point of contact on 
that memorable day between this unsuspecting lad and the large band 
of Indians who were making ready to execute their murderous design. 
The day was stormy and snow was falling. 



i"On the Sabbath next before his death, the good man, it is said, 
solemnly admonished his people to watch with prayer; and with a pro- 
phetic voice, as it proved, to beware of the enemy, pointing to them from 
the Scriptures the careless inhabitants of Laish, preceding the invasion of 
their land by the Danites, their foes." (Sketches of Early Maine Ministers, 
2 Maine Historical Society, Collections, iv, 72). 



At the foot of Mt. Agamenticus, eight miles from the shore, 150 
Abenakis had hastily raised their rude wigwams the night before. 
They had come thither to carry out a plan probably evolved the pre- 
vious year by members of their tribe who had been at the Sillery 
Mission "to form a war party. "^ It is evident from the French accounts 
that this town was attacked by design, as the statement is specifically 
made that the Indians "started out for a place named York against 
which they plotted mischief." They sent out scouts to ascertain the 
lay of the land and the conditions of defense, and evidently guided by 
the dog suddenly surprised young Bragdon busily engaged in setting 
his traps ; they seized him, and a little later came across two other 
inhabitants who were probably going into the forest to cut wood as 
they were carrying their axes. The Indians, after this capture, held 
them long enough to interrogate the three prisoners and "two of them 
were tomahawked as soon as they had learned what they wished to 
know".^ 

"As it was snowing hard," wrote M. de Champigny, the author of 
the French account, "some wished to wait for clear weather, but the 
leading warriors to whom they gave ear rather than to the tribal chiefs, 
were of the opinion that it was best to attack in spite of the snow." 
It was about noon when they reached the outskirts of the settlement, 
and the savages were divided into two bands, one of which was prob- 
ably given the task of attacking the settlement at Cape Neddick, the 
other the farms in "Scituate Row" scattered along shore at the Long 
Sands and on the eastern bank of the river. The party assigned to the 
latter section of the town secured among the first of their victims the 
beloved pastor of these people, Rev. Shubael Dummer, particulars of 
whose death will be described in detail later. 

This was the beginning of a ruthless massacre which was carried 



2This rehearsal of the already known facts of the massacre, as origin- 
ally told by English witnesses and related by contemporary writers, is here 
supplemented for the first time by the official reports of M. de Champigny, 
Intendant of Quebec, prepared for the information of the French Minister 
of the Colonies. A Copy of this report is in the Parkman Mss, (Library 
of the Massachusetts Historical Society), and it is here translated to illus- 
trate the story of the massacre as told by the Indians to Champigny. 
Parkman made slight use of it in his "Count Frontenac and New France 
under Louis XIV," (Champlain Ed. x, 124-7). 

SThe French report states that "the third was bound." It is evident 
from the context that it was young Bragdon who was spared, (see Mss. 
Genealogy of "The Bragdons of York" by Dr. C. E. Banks in the Library 
of the N. E. Hist-Gen. Society). Young Bragdon was then about 20 years 
of age. 



out with devilish ingenuity according to a preconcerted plan. "Our 
men separated in little bands of two or three" wTote Champigny, "and 
in two or three hours laid waste the region for about a league and 
a half." The startled inhabitants hearing the first shots rushed from 
their homes only to find themselves "invested with horrid savages who 
immediately killed many of those unprovided inhabitants" and followed 
up their butcheries by putting their dwelling houses to the torch. 
"Three garrisons", said Champigny, "and a very great number of 
English dwellings were burned ;" and, he adds, "after much resistance 
and terrified shrieking" the orgy terminated through lack of human 
material to swell the list of victims.^ All this happened on the north- 
east side of the river, and so unprepared were the settlers for defend- 
ing this onslaught that but one Abenaki was killed in the attack, and 
"him they buried in the cellar of an English house before putting it to 
the torch"; nor did they stop with human prey, for "an Abenaki who 
was one of the leading warriors and who relates all this," said 
Champigny "could make no estimate of the number of horses, cattle, 
sheep and swine that were killed and burned," but this warrior, how- 
ever, was able to make an inventory of the number of victims 
slaughtered by his band and said "that he himself counted more than a 
hundred English killed."" This same authority, with a show of pious 
naivete, relates that "our people spared the lives of a dozen little 
children and three old English women wdiom they sent to the nearest 
garrison." The occasion of the return of the latter was made an 
opportunity of sending a message to the nearest remaining garrison 
house in that vicinity not yet destroyed and the French narrative thus 
relates this incident : — 



4Judge David Sewall of York, in an account written in 1792 on the 
anniversary of the event, stated that all the houses on the north side of the 
river were burnt or destroyed, "except four garrisoned houses, viz: — 
Alcocks, Prebbles, Harmons and Nortons," (N. E. Gen. Reg. xxix, 108). 
In a separate Journal covering these events Champigny wrote that the 
Indians had "burned more than 60 houses." Captain Floyd in his account 
states "there is about seventeen or eighteen houses burned." The differ- 
ence between 17 and 60 may be due to the inclusion by the Indians of all 
buildings, barns, etc., which they classed as "houses." 

•''Rev. George Burroughs in a letter from Wells, dated 27 Jan., 1691-2, 
gives this picture of the attack by the Indians as told him "by a Captive 
youth who made his escape from them, as the beholding of the Pillours of 
Smoke, the rageing of the merciless flames, the insultations of the heathen 
enemy, shooting, hacking, (not having regard to the earnest supplication 
of men, women, or Children, with sharpe cryes & bitter teares in most 
humble manner,) & dragging away others, (& none to help) is most affect- 
ing the heart." 



"They demanded that the English leader surrender the garrison 
or else come out and give battle; or, if he intended to pursue 
them they would wait near there a couple of days to give him 
time; but if he came out (before giving battle) they would knock 
in the head all the English captives. They sent him (they said) 
some little children and old women upon whom they had com- 
passion, a thing that an Englishman never would have done and 
from this he could judge of the supreme contempt they had for 
him." 

Concerning this same incident Mather stated that the Indians "sent 
in their summons to some of the garrison houses; and those garrisons, 
whereof some had no more than two or three men in them, yet being 
so well manned as to reply, 'that they would spend their blood untO' the 
last drop, ere they would surrender ;' these cowardly miscreants had 
not mettle enough to meddle with 'em, so they retired into their 
howling thickets." 

Of the numerical results of this raid and massacre at York the 
French and contemporary English accounts differ widely. Champigny, 
quoting his Abenaki informant, who had "himself counted more than 
one hundred English killed," gives us the maximum number of victims, 
and it is probable that allowance must be made for the boasting of his 
Indian allies as to their prowess. The first account of the casualties 
was written by Capt. John Floyd, in command of the troops stationed 
at Portsmouth, who went immediately to the relief of York, when the 
news of the attack reached him. He states : "When we came we found 
Capt Alcocks & Lieut Prebles Garisons both standing the greatest 
part of the whole town was bumd & robd & the Heathen had killed & 
Caried Captive 140 — 48 of which are killd & 3 or 4 wounded & the 
rest Caried away."^ 

Francis Hooke of Kittery, whose information must have been 
derived from survivors of the attack, in a letter to the Governor, dated 
January 28, 169 1/2, said "in generall ther is 137 men, wemen and 
children kild and caryed away Captive; about 100 of them captivated 
are gone eastward.'"^ The inference from this statement is that thirty- 
seven were killed. The Rev. Robert Pike recorded in his Journal that 
there were "kiled about 48 persons & carried captive y^-'^^ Lawrence 
Hammond, another contemporary entered in his journal "140 persons 
missing, about 40 killd k buryed by Capt Flood & his Company."^ 



62 Maine Historical Society, v, 314-5. 
TIbid. 317. 

81 Proc. Mass. Hist. Soc. xiv, 127. 
92 Proc. Mass. Hist. Soc. vii, 160. 



Cotton Mather stated that "the savages" murdered about fifty and cap- 
tivated near an hundred. "^^ Among the later historians, Niles states 
"they had killed 50 and captived ICK) of the miserable inhabitants,"^^ 
and Williamson states that "about 75 people were killed. "^^ 

It seems impossible to reconcile these widely divergent statements. 
In attempting to adjust them it should be borne in mind that a con- 
siderable mumber who were taken captive either died on the march or 
never returned, and these should be added to the maximum number 
given by local English diarists of that period. It must therefore be 
concluded that the number "counted" by the Abenaqui warrior as one 
hundred must be considerably discounted, as mathematical accuracy, 
in the hurry and confusion of this gruesome business is not to be 
expected, and it is doubtful if any one of them spent the time at its 
conclusion to make a detailed survey of the day's work. It is, however, 
safe to say that between fifty and seventy-five either lost their lives 
immediately or perished soon after. 

The dramatic touch to this tragedy was given in the death of 
Shubael Dummer. "He was a gentleman well descended," wrote Mather, 
"well tempered, well educated, and now short of 60 years of age." He 
was son of Mr. Richard and Jane (Mason) Dummer of Newbury, 
Mass., born in Roxbury, Mass., February 17, 1636.^^ He was grad- 
uated from Harvard College in the class of 1656,'^ and was preaching 
in York as early as 1662,^^ but was not ordained until December 3rd, 
1673, when he preached his own ordination sermon, taking Psalms 
LXXX, 14, for his text. It is probable that his ministerial services 
began as early as 1660 if not earlier. He resided on a part of the 
property of his father-in-law, John Alcock, situated near Little River, 
now known as the Norwood Farms. At the time of his death he had, 
therefore, been the spiritual leader of the town for about thirty years. 
Of the manner of his death the French report says "he was brought 
down with a musket shot while trying to escape on his horse." One of 
the early historians of Maine states that he was "found by some of his 



lOMagnalia, (Hartford ed. Ch. vii, art. XV). 

113 Mass. Hist. Coll. vl, 227, "History of the Indian Wars," written 
in 1760. 

iSHistory of Maine, i, 629. Judge David Sewall of York, writing in 1792 
said "from the best accounts we have, about 50 persons were killed out- 
right and 100 captivated." 

i3Aspinwall, Notarial Records, 297. 

i4Sibley, Harvard Graduates, i, 474. 

isSewell, History of the Quakers. 



surviving neighbors fallen dead upon his face near his own door."^*"' 
A contemporary diarist adds that he was "found cut in pieces."^'^ 
Cotton Mather, in his usual turgid style gives us this version : "This 
good man was just going to take horse at his own door upon^ a journey 
in the service of God, when the tygres that were' making their depreda- 
tions upon the sheep of York seiz'd upon this their shepherd ; and they 
shot him so that they left him dead among the tribe of Abel upon the 
ground. "^^ 

According to Champigny, which is corroborated by Mather, his 
wife was taken captive and she was probably one of the "three old 
English women" who had been granted life and freedom to return, but, 
adds Champigny, "she returned twice to ask for her son who was 
among the captives, and they told her that as she wished it she should 
be added to the number, but she had not much more than reached the 
Abenaquis village when she died of grief." This newly discovered 
information effectually disposes of the statement originally made by 
Williamson, that the wife of Parson Dummer was a daughter of Ed- 
ward Rishworth.^^ This has been repeated in recent years and passed 
current as an historical verity until the late Nathaniel G. Marshall of 
York, Me., questioned its accuracy.-*^ It is easy, with the evidence 
now available, to disprove this alleged alliance. Edward Rishworth 
had but one daughter, Mary, born January 8, 1660, and she had a 
rather full and varied matrimonial experience, surviving four husbands 
and living as late as January, 1732.^^ She, with two of her daughters 
by her second husband, John Say ward, was captured at the time of the 
massacre and taken to Montreal, where she was put in service to the 
widow of a high official of that city. She was baptized in Montreal 
at the Church of Notre" Dame, December 8, 1693, as Marie Magdalen 
Plaisted, the name of her fourth husband. 

■ While Rishworth's daughter was successively marrying four hus- 
bands, Shubael Dummer was the husband of one wife, as early as 
October, 1675, and this wife is shown by settlements of estate in which 
he took part as administrator and heir. She was Lydia Alcock, 



lewilliamson, i, 629. 

iTHammond, ut supra. 

isMagnalia, ch. 7, art. xv. 

loWilliamson, i, 630. 

20N. E. Hist. -Gen. Register, xxxi, 219, where Mr. Marshall controverts 
the statement copied by Sibley in his Harvard Graduates (i, 474), that 
Dummer married a daughter of Rishworth. 

2iYork Deeds, xi, 63. 



daughter of Mr. John and Ehzabeth ( ) Alcock of York, and 

in July, 1675, she shared in the division of her father's estate as "Mrs. 
Lydia Dummer."^^ Five years later she was still his wife, and in a 
letter to George Snell, dated June 22nd, 1691, Shubael Dunimer called 
him "brother Snell," a relationship based on the marriage of Snell to 
Hannah Alcock, sister of Mrs. Lydia (Alcock) Dummer. 

Williamson records the information, probably a tradition gathered 
by him in York, that the Indians stripped the body of the Parson of 
its apparel, and during the march through the wilderness "on the next 
Lord's Day a full welted savage, purposely to deride the ministerial 
character of Mr. Dummer, put on his garments, and then stalked about 
in the presence of the distressed captives some of whom belonged to 
his church, to aggi'avate their feelings. "^^ Mather could not let this 
impious masquerade pass without characterizing this Indian as "a 
Demon transformed into an angel of light;" and he closes his disquisi- 
tion on the death of his colleague with the following epitaph : 



"Dummer, the shepherd sacrific'd 
"By wolves, because the sheep he priz'd. 
"The orphan's father, church's light 
"The love of heav'n, of hell the spight." 

"The Countries gapman, and the face 
"That shone, but knew it not, with grace. 
"Hunted by devils, but reliev'd 
"By angels, and on high receiv'd." 

"The martyred Pelican, who bled 
"Rather than leave his charge unfed. 
"A proper bird of paradise 
"Shot, and flown thither in a trice." 

"Lord, hear the cry of righteous Dummer's wounds, 
"Ascending still against the salvage hounds, 
"That worry thy dear flocks, and let the cry 
"Add force to theirs that at thine altar lye." 



22Mass. Archives, xvi, 87. Further confirmation of this marriage is to 
be found in an article on the Alcock Family of Maine by Dr. C. E. Banks 
in N. E. Hist-Gen. Register, xxxvi, 401. 

232 Maine Historical Society, iv, 72. 

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